Not long ago, Buster Posey and Justin Verlander were fierce rivals on the field. While Posey, 37, drew curtains on his career after the 2021 season, Verlander, 41, is still going strong. After retirement, Posey joined the 30-member ownership group of the Giants in Sept. 2022. Two years later, the former catcher took over the reins of the San Francisco Giants front office replacing Farhan Zaidi.
This offseason, Posey's office signed Verlander to a one-year, $15 million deal. While the three-time Cy Young winner is now looked upon as a shadow of himself, Posey holds him in high regard.
During Wednesday's appearance on Tim Kawakami's show, Posey shared the reasons behind the signing of Verlander and shared his expectations for him.
"I mentioned it yesterday in the press conference with him that we're hopeful Justin Verlander is going to be pitching at the top of our rotation and pitching very well," Posey said (10:24 onwards). I know that's his goal as well. But there's a lot of benefit for everybody else on that staff.
"I would even say Webby included, even though Webby is established at this point, to just watch. I mean, this is a future Hall of Famer. How does he go about his business? How does he walk into the park each day? How does he carry himself during a good outing or a bad outing? What's his work ethic? All of those things—I think it's hard to measure that value, but I believe they're really important."
Justin Verlander shares insights on pitching at 41
Despite 41, Justin Verlander continues to be a big name on the mound. While he went 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA in 17 starts for the Houston Astros in 2024, he's determined to put his best foot forward with the Giants.
During the introductory press conference, the ace spoke about what he needs to keep doing which makes him durable.
“I've always been somebody who, I set down the ball, I don't pick it up again for a few months and then I've always been very lucky that I just pick it up and start throwing,” Verlander said Monday. “Well, at 41, that caught up with me. So that was an adjustment that I've made that I feel is paying big dividends already.”
With a big season ahead of him, Verlander hopes to stay healthy throughout the season while also guiding some young pitchers in the clubhouse who will get to learn some trick from the future Hall of Famer.